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Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unveiling the Connection Between Sleep Disorders and Cognitive Symptoms in Depression
Published on: April 26, 2024
[Individual differences in sleep macrostructure: effects of anxiety, depression, aging and gender]
András Horváth1, Anna Szücs, Xavier Montana
1Országos Klinikai Idegtudományi Intézet, Budapest, Hungary. andras.horvath.semmelweis@gmail.com.
Objective:
Anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric symptoms frequently associated with sleep disorders. Despite the intensive research, the role of sleep in the patomechanism of anxiety has remained unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate the anxiety-related changes in the sleep macrostructure and the impact of ageing, gender and the presence of depression.
Methods:
1083 patients with sleep symptoms were enrolled in the study. All patients have all night polysomnographies. The effect of anxiety, depression, aging and gender on the sleep initiation, maintenance and sleep stages respectively; were analysed in 4 different statistical approaches.
Results:
Anxiety increased the latency of sleep and REM sleep; and decreased the length of REM sleep and slow-wave sleep; while depressive symptoms were associated with reduced REM latency, slow-wave sleep and increased REM duration. The length of slow-wave sleep, REM phase decreased with ageing and the sleep was fragmented. Women had more slow-wave sleep and less REM sleep than men.
Conclusion:
Normal order of sleep stages is essential in the cognitive processing of the brain. Changes in sleep macrostructure may have an impact in the impairment of cognitive functions of patients suffering from anxiety or depression.
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